"I just felt it was time for me to try and spread my wings and fly a little bit further," Bielema said in a press conference Wednesday night.

Bielema’s buyout is 100 percent if terminated for convenience in the first three years, and drops from $9.6 million in 2016 to $3.2 million in the final year of his contract, 2018.

If Bielema leaves within the first year of his contract, he’d owe Arkansas $3 million. The buyout drops $500,000 each year through the remainder of the contract.

Additionally, Bielema’s contract is loaded with incentives that could earn him an additional $700,000 annually. The extra money kicks in for winning a national title, a title game appearance, an SEC title and non-BCS bowl game appearances.

He’s also contractually forbidden from leaving for another job in the SEC.

Arkansas is also paying Bielema’s $1 million buyout at Wisconsin.

"I left a great place," Bielema said. "I left a place that gave me my first opportunity as a head coach. One of the things I really believe in as a coach is if you can leave the place in a better place than where you were you should feel good.

"We gave them three straight Big Ten championships. It had never been done before. "